detained for trying to "bribe" a TSA agent.
Jul 3, 2013, 12:55 pm
#16
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That's a pretty small bribe. Isn't there some minimum for bribes, like 50 bucks or something?
I just think you insulted them by being such a cheapskate.
And of course, by definition it's a tip (or in your case, a display of irritation with the process). A bribe happens before the event, and a tip happens after the event. If you go to a fine restaurant and want to find a table on a Friday night, you pay the maitre d' BEFORE you get the table (a bribe). You pay the waitress AFTER you have eaten (a tip).
Leave it to the TSA to screw that up, too.
I just think you insulted them by being such a cheapskate.
And of course, by definition it's a tip (or in your case, a display of irritation with the process). A bribe happens before the event, and a tip happens after the event. If you go to a fine restaurant and want to find a table on a Friday night, you pay the maitre d' BEFORE you get the table (a bribe). You pay the waitress AFTER you have eaten (a tip).
Leave it to the TSA to screw that up, too.
Jul 3, 2013, 1:28 pm
#20
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Travelers left more than $500,000 at airport checkpoints last year, TSA keeps the change
Jul 3, 2013, 2:59 pm
#21
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Jul 3, 2013, 3:01 pm
#22
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Jul 3, 2013, 5:29 pm
#23
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Not always. In a former job, I used to have employees in several states as clients, and we were always counseled by our lawyers that, for a couple of states, there was _no_ de minimis exemption for gifts - bringing Starbucks to a meeting with my client would have constituted a bribe under the law.
I remember dealing with one regulator who hung around all day and then would not even eat a piece of birthday cake for one of our employees. Dude, either eat the cake or get the heck out of here! It's not a bribe, it's a little thing I like to call...common courtesy.
Common sense has left the building. Bring me a Starbucks and some cake.
Jul 3, 2013, 5:48 pm
#24
Join Date: May 2011
Location: CBR (Australia)
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Posts: 290
Well that was poorly handled by the TSA officer, surely all the officer needed to say was "thank you very much sir, but I'm not allow to keep tips, even small ones, please take the money back" and there would have been no problems. Instead they escalated a situation (which I have noticed is not uncommon for US law officers)
Yeah we have a client like this, we can't do anything lest it looks like a bribe. End of last year, when we invited all our clients out to an xmas lunch, we had to deliberately exclude that client, lest someone somewhere thought someone been invited to join in a party was tantamount to corruption at the highest level.
Not always. In a former job, I used to have employees in several states as clients, and we were always counseled by our lawyers that, for a couple of states, there was _no_ de minimis exemption for gifts - bringing Starbucks to a meeting with my client would have constituted a bribe under the law.
Jul 3, 2013, 6:27 pm
#25
Join Date: Jun 2012
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And who apologized to who for 5 minutes? I wouldn't have apologized.
Jul 4, 2013, 8:23 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Northwest NJ, USA
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A bribe for what? The OP was through the checkpoint and was free to go. I can't think of why it would be considered a bribe. A tip, OK, but why would you even consider tipping a TSA person?
DD
DD
Jul 4, 2013, 10:15 am
#27
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Jul 4, 2013, 11:06 am
#28
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Of all the government agencies, TSA seems to be the one that is coming the closest to pushing us into a police state. Don't accept it. I don't. I've been threatened with the, "Do you want me to call a cop?" bluff on one occasion, and my response was, "Yes, I do. And I'm not moving from this spot until you call one." Needless to say, that put paid to the TSO's posturing AND earned him a reprimand from his supervisor.
Jul 4, 2013, 11:38 am
#29
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Exactly right. I am, frankly, surprised by the number of posters who have pointed out, logically and accurately, but entirely unnecessarily, that what the OP did was not really a bribe. The only thing the OP did wrong, as far as the TSOs are concerned, is to not show sufficient respect for their "authoritah." These TSOs were officious, petty martinets, anxious to flex power they did not have. The threat to call a cop was completely hollow, and any LEO on the seen would have laughed in their faces. No law was broken. More importantly no CFR -- the arbitrary rules that have the force of law (at least until challenged in a court of law) -- was broken. As I said in an earlier post, my response would have been to call their bluff and demand that the people actual authority be called over immediately. It would have been amusing to have seen these clowns grovel and scrape as they tried to avoid their chastisement.
Of all the government agencies, TSA seems to be the one that is coming the closest to pushing us into a police state. Don't accept it. I don't. I've been threatened with the, "Do you want me to call a cop?" bluff on one occasion, and my response was, "Yes, I do. And I'm not moving from this spot until you call one." Needless to say, that put paid to the TSO's posturing AND earned him a reprimand from his supervisor.
Of all the government agencies, TSA seems to be the one that is coming the closest to pushing us into a police state. Don't accept it. I don't. I've been threatened with the, "Do you want me to call a cop?" bluff on one occasion, and my response was, "Yes, I do. And I'm not moving from this spot until you call one." Needless to say, that put paid to the TSO's posturing AND earned him a reprimand from his supervisor.
Immediate attitude change. "Aw, don't worry about it. I was just kidding."
I registered my complaint with management before I left the area.